Mbabane
Eswatini's seat of government, at 1,243 metres in the Mdzimba Mountains, with a granite dome on the skyline and a royal valley just down the road.
- Arrival
- King Mswati III International · SHO
- To the city
- About 58 km from SHO in a straight line
- Private jets
- At SHO, with Jet A1 and a local handler
- Best time
- April to September
The city
A river crossing in the hills.
Mickey Wells set up here in 1887, at the point where the trade route from the Transvaal to Mozambique forded the Mbabane River; the name comes from a local chief, Mbabane Kunene. In 1902 the British moved the protectorate's administration up from Bremersdorp, today's Manzini, and Mbabane has been the executive capital ever since. Parliament and the Royal Kraal are at Lobamba, in the valley below.
The town is on the small side and hilly, with ministries, embassies and a shopping mall at its centre. Winter, from April to September, is dry and mild. Summer brings most of the year's rain, and snow has fallen only three times since 1900.
- Sibebe Rock About 10 km out of town, a bare granite mountain that rises 350 metres above the Mbuluzi valley and is climbed each year by thousands on a charity walk.
- Indingilizi Gallery Contemporary Swazi art, alongside the craft markets of the capital.
- Malolotja Nature Reserve Mountains, grassland and river gorges, with hiking trails, zebra and antelope, and a zip line through the forest canopy.
Arriving
One airport, east of the capital.
The country's international airport, King Mswati III, lies in the Lubombo region, about 58 km east of Mbabane in a straight line. It opened to airlines in 2014 and has a single runway of some 3.6 km, long enough for a Boeing 777.
- Johannesburg 45 min
- Cape Town 2 h 15
- Luanda 3 h 50
- Delhi 10 h 25 long-range jet
- Vienna 11 h 10 long-range jet
When to go
April to September.
Altitude keeps Mbabane temperate: summer highs reach about 24 °C, and in June the afternoons are around 18 °C. The rains arrive with the heat, from October to March, with 244 mm in January. From May to August barely 15 to 33 mm falls in a month.
- 24° J 244
- 24° F 196
- 24° M 140
- 22° A 84
- 20° M 33
- 18° J 15
- 19° J 20
- 20° A 33
- 22° S 66
- 22° O 127
- 22° N 191
- 24° D 198
Where to stay
In town, or down in the valley.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
-
The Royal Villas Fifty-seven rooms spread over fourteen villas, with a cellar of up to a thousand wines and a whisky and cigar lounge.
- Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane A 124-room hotel on Mhlambanyatsi Road, a short walk from the ministries, with an outdoor pool.
Where to dine
The best table nearby.
No guide rates Eswatini’s restaurants. Lihawu, at The Royal Villas in the Ezulwini Valley, is the restaurant Lonely Planet calls the most elegant in the country.
- Lihawu Lonely Planet African fusion The Royal Villas, Ezulwini Valley, about 15 km
Flying to Mbabane?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.